


The Attraction Experiment

by LibbyWeasley



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: All fluff and smut, Awkward Conversations, But they figure it out, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Fluff, Kissing, No Angst, One-sided attraction?, SHIELD Academy Era, Science Experiments, academy au, almost all the way, okay it feels like there might be a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-27 05:26:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15017621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/pseuds/LibbyWeasley
Summary: Jemma Simmons isn't having any luck dating, so naturally she turns to her best friend for help.





	1. Chapter 1

Fitz was startled out of his work, if you could actually call staring off into space fantasizing about your best friend “work,” by the sound of his door slamming shut and Jemma all but throwing herself into the chair across from him. It was Friday night, so naturally Jemma had been on a date while he had chosen to get caught up on the design he was working on. Not that he had a lot of other options. Still, his work was generally a good distraction from thinking about what Simmons was doing when she was out on a date.

But now she was back. A glance over at her made him catch his breath. She had traded in the oversized sweater and jeans that she had been wearing when they were studying together for a stretchy, form-fitting black dress that didn’t cover nearly enough of her legs in his opinion. Simmons _never_ stopped back in his room after one of her dates, something he was very appreciative of since it made it easier to pretend that she wasn’t out with another guy. But she was here now, so something must be wrong.

“Everything alright, Simmons?” he asked cautiously, not really wanting to know the answer.

With a sigh, she answered, “No, it is not.” 

She looked intently at him, as if searching for a sign he wanted her to continue. When he didn’t say anything, she launched into an impassioned monologue. She didn’t seem to require any further input from him, which was good because he wasn’t sure he could form words.

“It is not alright. I'm so glad I have you to talk to. I've been dating for months now, and while I understand the biology behind attraction and arousal, I haven’t been able to experience it. No matter what I try, the guys I’ve dated don’t make me feel _that_. I’ve tried everything I can think of, and every kiss and touch is just...blah. Maybe there is something wrong with me.”

She glanced over at him and Fitz desperately tried to control his horror at the direction his evening had taken. But she must have accepted the look on his face as interest in her predicament because she continued on, barely taking a breath.

“And it isn’t just that. I mean, I don’t expect to find my soulmate here at the Academy, but this is a basic biological process, necessary for the continuation of the human species, and I can’t seem to do it.”

At this point Fitz nearly choked on his own saliva. He wasn’t quite sure which “it” she was talking about, but whatever “it” it was, he was fairly certain she could, in fact, do “it.” As proof of that concept, his jeans had started to feel uncomfortably small. Just her being in his room dressed like that was starting to do things to him. He thought about telling her that. That maybe it was just the wankers she was dating that were the problem, since he was fairly certain he could make her feel all kinds of things. But he quickly dismissed that idea. He didn’t want this conversation to go anywhere near a place that would lead to a confession on his part, knowing she didn’t feel the same way.

While he didn’t want Jemma out there kissing other guys, he was somewhat relieved to hear that she wasn’t actually enjoying the experience. Maybe biding his time was the right approach after all.

“After all, sexual arousal is a biological response to mental and physical stimulus. Attraction certainly plays a role in achieving the correct hormonal response, but I’m only selecting partners that I find physically appealing, so that shouldn’t be an issue here. And I’m assuming they find me attractive as well or they would not have accepted my invitations.”

Fitz really needed Jemma to stop talking. If this was how she thought about dating -- and sex -- then he thought he knew what her problem was. She was approaching it all like a bloody science experiment! He was actually starting to feel a little sorry for the guy she had been out with tonight. Whatever his name was. But hearing her talk about sex wasn’t helping his situation any, and he was fairly certain that if this continued much longer their friendship might suffer a serious setback.

“Simmons,” he started hesitantly, “have you considered that there are too many variables here?” 

He paused, and she looked at him expectantly.

“Yes, well, maybe he’s not the right guy, or you aren’t his type, or he’s too tall, or… or you haven’t figured out how you like to be kissed,” he finished weakly. 

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t for Jemma’s face to light up.

“You are a genius, Fitz!”

He wasn’t sure what he had said, but this seemed to be a step in the right direction. Now if he could just get her out of his room, he could take care of his little (or not so little) problem.

“I am?” he asked with a smirk.

“Of course you are,” she replied with a blinding smile. He loved the way her eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled like that. 

“I just wasn’t thinking about this problem correctly. There are entirely too many variables to control for on a date.”

Good. This was good. She seemed to agree with what he had said.

“I just need to create an experiment where I can modify just one variable at a time until I find the right combination.”

Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good.

“Fitz, I need you to kiss me!” she burst out triumphantly.

“Wh-what?” Fitz sputtered. This was not going well. He went from having a perfectly nice fantasy of snogging Jemma (perhaps even shagging her if he’d had enough time to perfect his mental image), to having a real-life Jemma in his room, demanding that he kiss her. It was almost more than he could take.

But there were two serious issues here. The first was that he had a problem that she was sure to notice if she got too close, like if their bodies were pressed together because they were kissing. Oh, no. That just made it worse. The second was that she only wanted to kiss him to experiment and learn her own desires so she could go experience “sexual arousal” with other guys. Being her best friend was really the worst sometimes.

He took a deep breath to try to calm down, but it was no use.

“It makes perfect sense, Fitz,” she continued brightly, really hitting her stride now. She had funneled all of her frustration into a new outlet, the way she always approached scientific problems.

“We know each other so well it won’t be awkward, and we can try tweaking variables one at a time until I get this right. And you can practice as well, so it really is perfect!” she gushed.

Wait...not awkward?? Oh, god, she thought he needed practice kissing and she was volunteering. She...was...volunteering. Maybe that wasn’t so bad. If she wanted to practice with him, after all, that meant she saw him as a potential sexual partner. Stop. Now he was even thinking like her. He wasn’t looking for a sexual partner. His interest in Jemma went way beyond that.

Jemma must have seen the emotions flash over his face because her voice softened and she said, “Of course we wouldn’t want to start tonight since the time of day would be another variable to consider.”

“Tomorrow we are working on our lab,” Fitz choked out. Maybe if he kept her distracted she would forget this crazy idea.

“Of course,” she agreed. “That is perfect actually. Once we finish our work, we can take a break and then start this experiment.”

Fitz didn’t remember agreeing to this plan, but it wasn’t like he could tell her no. She would eventually get her way. There was no point fighting hurricane Jemma.

“Oooh...it is getting late and I have so much to do to prepare for tomorrow,” she said. Then she gave him a quick hug and breezed out of the room, leaving him staring after the swish of her skirt and breathing in the perfume that was lingering in the air.

He was really in a lot of trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this didn't end up where I thought it would. I had a plan, but when I started writing, Fitz did something that I wasn't expecting. You can blame him for that. So the next chapter will end up being what I thought this one would be (if that makes any sense).

Fitz has just fallen asleep when he was woken up by a knock on his door. Dragging himself to the door to answer it, he found Jemma on the other side. Unlike him, she was still dressed in her clothes from earlier. He invited her in and closed the door behind her. After making sure the door was locked, he turned around intending to ask her why she was here, _again_ , in the middle of the night, and was distracted by the way her hips swayed slightly as she walked across the room to stand beside his bed. 

Head still foggy with sleep it took him a moment to realize he had been staring at the curve of her hip and letting his eyes travel down to where her skirt ended and exposed thigh began. His fingers twitched and he longed to touch her and see if her skin was as soft as it looked, but he forced his eyes back to her face. 

“Everything alright, Jemma? Would you like a cup of tea?” he asked. Tea seemed like a pretty safe topic. 

She didn’t say anything at first, her eyes searching his face. 

She bit her lip and Fitz had to force his brain to keep working as the tip of her tongue wet her red, gloss-covered lips before she spoke. 

“I’ve been thinking about our conversation earlier, and I realized something,” she began. 

She took a step closer to him and reached out to touch his hand where it rested at his side. This new position put both of their hands very close to the exposed skin that Fitz had on his mind. 

“What did you realize?” Fitz practically choked out, his voice low and a little hoarse. Hopefully Jemma would assume that had to do with the fact that he had been asleep rather than because he was fighting his desire to touch her. 

His question seemed to give her confidence and she brought their entwined hands to rest on her waist while her other hand wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers. 

“I want you,” she whispered against his lips, right before she kissed him. 

He was so distracted by the fact that his hand was on her body and he could feel her warmth beneath his fingers, that it took his brain a second to catch with what she had said. By then he had, thankfully, managed to kiss her back and as she deepened the kiss he pulled her body flush against his. 

The additional contact was both amazing and at the same time incredibly frustrating. He wanted more. He wanted so much more. He wanted to touch her and kiss her and make her his. But she was also his best friend and he didn’t want to ruin that. This was the point of no return. 

Pulling back from the kiss to try to slow things down, Fitz’s lips starting slowly making their way down Jemma’s neck, eliciting a series of small moans and gasps as he hit sensitive spots. With the stilettos Jemma was wearing, she was the perfect height for this type of exploration. It was odd, Fitz thought, he didn’t remember Jemma ever wearing stilettos, or heels of any kind, for that matter, but as soon as he had thought it, it was gone. 

Their bodies were still pressed together, and with Jemma's encouragements, his hands began to move, almost if their own volition. It was all instinct and reaction to the sounds she was making. Her hands had crept under his shirt, one stroking his back while the other was drifting lower. 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Jemma asked in a sultry tone, her eyes burning into his, as if it were a perfectly normal question to ask your best friend. 

Fitz only hesitated for a moment before taking a step away from her and grasping her hands in his. “Jemma, if this is what you want, then you should know that I can’t imagine a life without you. You are my best friend and I love you.”

“I love you too, Fitz. From the moment I met you I knew you would be in my life for a long time,” she said quietly, with a blush staining her cheeks, before pushing him lightly onto the bed. 

In a single motion Jemma reached down to grab the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her head before joining him on the bed. 

Fitz got a glance of lacy, black knickers and a matching bra before Jemma climbed on top of him. Given the size of the twin bed there was only one place for her to go and she straddled his hips before leaning down to press another kiss to his lips. 

Fitz clung to her and his hands finally found the skin the had been itching to touch. The way she was laying on him and grinding her hips ever so slightly against him, she must have noticed his erection, yet she was content to kiss him and wrap her arms around his neck. With nothing else to do with his hands he let himself explore the skin on her thighs and around to grasp her knicker-clad arse. 

Touching her was the most incredible thing he had ever felt and the taste of her was driving him mad, but Jemma seemed to be waiting for him to make the next move. Squeezing her close to him, he rolled over…

...and fell onto the floor, waking up from the best dream he had ever had. 

\---------------------------------------------

Fitz passed a rather sleepless night. He had hoped to get a good night’s rest is order to stay one step ahead of Jemma and her crazy plan, but every time he closed his eyes all he could picture was her in that short dress and the way it outlined her boobs, er, breasts. Or even worse, he’d see dream Jemma and her intoxicating mix of seduction and innocence. And if he managed to banish that image from his mind, it was just replaced with her soft, perfect lips -- lips she planned on touching his with -- saying words like arousal and sexual. It was a miracle he had gotten any rest at all.

When it was time to meet so they could work on their new design, he mentally braced himself, certain she would continue their discussion from the night before. But nothing.

She looked especially nice today with her hair down and her body encased in blue jeans and some sort of button down shirt that was nothing like any of his. Rather than being loose and formless, it caressed her curves. The light pink color of her top seemed more feminine looking than she normally wore in the lab, and Fitz found it very distracting. Or maybe he was just more attuned to her today than he usually was.

“I think we should try modifying the delivery mechanism in order to increase the dosage,” Jemma said in her perfect, professional tone that she always used when they were working.

“Fitz, are you even listening to me?”

Fitz realized that his mind had again been wandering. Dream Jemma was going to make him fail all of his classes at this rate. Or actual Jemma would. He needed to focus.

Thinking about it for a moment, he said, “I can re-calibrate the sensor, which should increase the dosage administered.” 

For his agreement he was rewarded with one of Jemma’s sunny smiles and he scowled at her in return, which just made her laugh.

She settled down at her laptop while he made the modifications to their design. At this rate they would finish up in the lab early today, which would leave them some extra time this weekend. His mood improved slightly as he thought about what he could do with that extra time: watch movies, get caught up on his other homework, or maybe take a nap and see if dream Jemma would visit him again.

A few more tweaks to the design and he would be finished. Since she looked so engrossed in her work, he walked across the lab to bring the modified injection gun for her inspection. Walking up behind her, he saw what was on her screen and froze.

_Independent Variables to Test_

_1) Position of hands_  
 _2) Tongue or no tongue_  
 _3) Standing up or lying down_  
 _4) Clothing?_

The list went on and on, but all of his insecurities came flying back into his mind. Just imagining hands, tongues, and clothing in the same thought as Jemma was enough to push him over the edge, and she actually wanted to kiss and touch, and...he couldn’t do it.

“Fitz, this is wonderful!” she exclaimed. She must have noticed him standing behind her and had turned and taken the injection gun from him.

“The addition of this sensor should give me the biometric data I need to customize the injection rate, but the model hasn’t finished running yet, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to make the final changes.”

“And,” she said with a bright smile, “we finished early.”

Fitz could only nod at her, his mind still stuck on hands and tongues and questions about clothing. What did that mean? Type of clothing? Or maybe she meant no clothing? Oh, god, what if she meant no clothing?? That prospect was terrifying to him. Not that he didn’t want to see her without clothing, but that she might ask him to take his clothes off.

“I was thinking....about tonight," Jemma said, with a nervous glance in his direction, "In order to eliminate one of the variables, time of day, I think we should start the experiment at seven o’clock. I can come to your room.”

For some reason Jemma was talking about her plans to come to his bedroom to kiss him in her perfect, professional lab voice.

“Simmons, should we really be meeting up in my room to kiss?” Fitz wondered if maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought when he fell out of bed. Jemma was planning on coming to his room -- _where he slept and had dreams about her_ \-- and kissing him.

“Yes, I think it is for the best,” she said, screwing her face up a little bit. “I had considered the boiler room or a restaurant, but it really is a lot easier to control for variables in a closed environment.”

Fitz opened his mouth to respond, but no sounds came out. Jemma had turned around to close her laptop and gather her things into her bag, so she didn’t see him there with his mouth hanging open.

“I’m just going to get ready, and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Simmons…,” he started weakly.

“And, Fitz,” she interjected over him, “thank you. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

She gave him a quick peck on cheek as she walked by and disappeared from the lab, leaving him alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...dream Jemma. Fitz obviously has a lot to process and his subconscious is desperately trying to help him out. Since Fitz doesn't have much experience with sex (read as "no experience"), I figured his brain would fill in the basics but then not know exactly how it would feel - so that's where he wakes up. Also, even in his teenage hormone-driven fantasies, I think he would acknowledge how much he cares about her (he is a romantic after all).
> 
> Also, Jemma isn't exactly ignoring Fitz or his discomfort with all of this. She is just excited to be able to figure this out and I think especially early in their relationship she was used to Fitz going along with her. She is more outgoing and assertive and since she doesn't see the potential conflict here (where he is totally in love with her), it isn't even something that crossed her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize now for torturing Fitz a little bit here. They wanted to talk about some things before they started the experiment and I'm afraid it got a little awkward.

Waiting for seven o’clock that night was one of the hardest thing Fitz had ever done, and that was saying something. After making the bed and straightening up - there was nothing in there that she hadn’t seen before, but he honestly didn’t know what the rules were now that she was coming to his room with the express intent to kiss him - he paced the small room.

Jemma had said she was going to get ready. He assumed that meant she was going to work on setting the experimental conditions, but now that he thought about it, there were a lot of things that could mean. Maybe he was supposed to get ready too. But, no. If Jemma expected him to do something in particular, she would have told him. That was one of the benefits of being best friends with the most over-prepared person in the entire world. Which made him seriously start to wonder what she was doing to prepare for tonight. As his mind started to consider all of the possibilities - sexy lingerie, flavored lip gloss, or, more likely, charts and graphs - his dream Jemma started creeping back into his head. He knew she wasn’t the real Jemma - and he’d take flesh and blood Jemma over a dream any day, if she’d let him - but he had to consider if his Jemma was interested in him at all and how she would react when she found out how he felt. Because there was no way that with her here in his room, kissing him, _possibly with tongue_ according to the list of variables she was considering, that she wouldn’t find out. He was rubbish at lying, especially to her. But since she had started all of this, it seemed a bit inevitable, like it was destined to happen and there was nothing that could be done to alter the progress of time.

Looking at his watch, he realized he only had 20 minutes before she would be at his door, because in addition to being almost comically over-prepared, she was also incredibly punctual, qualities he found both extremely annoying and strangely endearing. Now that he was out of time he decided to change his shirt - into a blue button-down she had complimented him on before - and brush his teeth...twice for good measure.

As he took a quick look in the mirror to make sure he didn’t have toothpaste all of his face, or something else equally embarrassing, there was a quick knock at the door, followed by the sound of Jemma letting herself in.

“Hi Fitz! I was hoping you’d be here,” she said with a smile.

Of course he was here. Where else would he be? This was the day he was going to kiss Jemma Simmons, the most incredible girl...no, wait, they weren’t 16 anymore, she was a woman now. Jemma Simmons, the most incredible woman he had ever met, was going to kiss him.

“You look really nice. That shirt brings out the blue in your eyes. It is one of my favorites.” After a short pause to draw breath, she went on, “Were you planning on going out after this? Because it might take longer than I originally expected. There are a large number of potential variables to test and once I started laying out the trials I realized that the variables were actually matrices rather than truly independent, so they could be mixed into an endless number of permutations.”

She was basically babbling at this point. She must feel somewhat nervous about this as well, which was a comforting thought.

“Simmons, slow down,” he said reassuringly.

This was science, and here at least they were equal partners, even if her whole plan was completely mad and would likely drive him over the edge.

“You are right about the variables, but if we are able to isolate just a few of the variables that seem to have a statistically significant impact based on several trials, then you can solve your, um, problem without testing the entire set of matrices,” he said calmly.

See? He could be reasonable about this. It was all for science. And as long as he focused on the experiment and stopped imagining how it would feel to have her pressed up against him, or how her lips would feel, or how he might be able to touch her warm skin, he could keep himself under control. Focus.

“And you look really nice, too,” he added as an afterthought. And she did look nice, he thought. Sexy even. Apparently getting ready _had_ included some of her normal date preparations, because she was wearing makeup, just a little around her eyes and some color on her lips. He probably wouldn’t have noticed except for the fact that he spent every day with her, and had recently spent quite a bit of time studying her. She had also changed her clothes, and was now wearing some sort of shimmery top over very tight black pants. It wasn’t as overtly sexy as the dress from the night before, but Fitz thought she looked even more tempting this way. He flexed his fingers, imagining exploring her body. There was still so much he didn’t know about her. 

Looking for an outlet for all of his nervous energy he asked Jemma more about her experiment. “So I know you have a list of variables to test, but how are you planning to collect data?”

“Initially, I was thinking about tracking our heart rates and respiration using a monitor and then syncing the time stamps.”

Fitz froze. That sounded like a terrible idea. Well, not a terrible idea. From a scientific perspective it made sense. That type of data collection was far more reliable than more qualitative data. But there would be no fooling her about his feelings if she could see his heart rate increase whenever she came near. 

“However,” she went on, “I thought the sensors would interfere with the authenticity of the study so I’ve decided to rely on qualitative data with a 5-point Likert scale.”

“But a Likert scale,” Fitz began with a grimace. 

“...is so unreliable,” they finished together. 

“I know. But since it is just the two of us, I thought we could just promise to be honest with our scores in order to ensure the integrity of the data.”

She was looking at him expectantly, apparently thinking this would be a sticking point for him. But to be honest, this method was far preferable to him. If he was self-reporting his reaction to her, he could just track her responses and there would be nothing to give him away. As long as she didn’t get too close. 

“I suppose so,” he answered slowly after allowing a suitable amount of time to pass so it would seem like he had thoroughly considered the implications of this research method. 

“Since it is just the two of us there shouldn’t be that much variation in our responses,” Fitz added. He didn’t want to seem too eager to avoid a heart rate monitor, so he was aiming for reluctant agreement. 

And it seemed to work. 

“Exactly,” Jemma agreed, still looking nervous. 

“Fitz, I have one more question to ask you before we start. And I’m afraid it’s a little embarrassing. I should have mentioned it earlier, but I realized I need to track not just my level of arousal, but also that of my partner.”

Oh, fuck. She was going to ask him if he was attracted to her. He thought he would at least get a chance to kiss her _before_ she uncovered his secret, but this was it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Jemma was still talking. “...so, I need to know if you’ve had sexual intercourse or an orgasm in the last 12 hours as that may impact your response to the experimental trials.”

“Y-no!...wait, what?” Bloody hell, what just happened here?

Jemma raises her eyes to meet his gaze. “Since I’ll also need to track your response to me, to make sure there isn’t something I’m doing wrong, I just need to know if there is any reason you’d have an abnormal response to the stimulus.” That last part was said with what looked like a pained expression on her face. Maybe she was interested in him after all. Or maybe this was just a line that friends weren’t supposed to cross. Either way, he still needed to answer her. 

“No, Simmons. No reason at all,” he did his best to respond evenly, but his breath caught in his throat. And he felt hot. Was it hot in here?

“Lovely,” she said, as she smiled at him again. She really was lovely he thought. 

“I haven’t either,” she said. At his puzzled expression, she clarified, “I haven’t had an orgasm today either.”

Oh. 

With that piece of information now stuck in his head he watched her open her laptop and pull up the spreadsheet she had created to record data. 

“I suppose we should just start at the beginning. Basic kiss on the mouth and we can try several different combinations of position and hand placement.” She was back to her professional voice, which Fitz was grateful for since it allowed him to concentrate a little bit. This was the moment he had been waiting his whole life for. He was going to kiss Jemma. Right now. 

He took a step closer to her, facing her now. After glancing at her spreadsheet she took his hands in hers and guided them to her waist. He let them rest lightly there, with two layers of her clothing between his hands and her skin. Then, looking up into his eyes she placed her hands on his shoulders. He felt the tension between them and a familiar awareness of her as they looked into each other’s eyes and slowly leaned forward until their lips met. 

It was...it was awful. Well, maybe not awful. He did finally have her in his arms, but that kiss was rubbish. 

After a few seconds she visibly startled and pulled back. Placing her cursor in the correct cell of her file she looked at him. 

“What is your rating for the first trial?”

“Er, a zero?” Fitz asked, realizing she had never given him the five points on her scale. 

“I was planning on using a 1-3-5-7-9 scale, so the lowest rating would be 1. But in this case I agree with you,” she responded dryly.

After two years of avoiding any thoughts of Jemma kissing other guys, he suddenly had a burning desire to know how that kiss had compared to others she had experienced. Or maybe that was just his burning desire for her that he was projecting on this situation. 

“So,” he said, hoping he sounded helpful rather than nosy, “how did that compare to your other results?” There. That sounded clinical, right?

“That is always the same result,” she said dully. “Now you see why I need your help. We are always so good at figuring things out together.”

She glanced at him uncertainly again. While it was true that this was beyond (far beyond) the normal boundaries of their relationship, he would honestly do anything for her. And that was how Fitz ended up spending the next hour sharing excruciatingly bad kisses with his best friend. The good news was that this was getting easier, and the bad news was that it was, well, bad.

In everything he had ever imagined about kissing her, he hadn’t considered that it wouldn’t be the best feeling in the world. But while he supposed they were technically doing it right - lips touching, hands pulling each other close - there was no spark between them. And he knew there was a spark. He felt it all the time when he wasn’t even thinking about it. 

Then he realized what they had both been missing.

“Simmons, I have an idea. Close your eyes,” he blurted out.

She looked up from where she had been entering more data into her spreadsheet, muttering something about the scientific method, and frowned at him.

“Sensory deprivation is further down on my list, Fitz.”

“Simmons, do you trust me?”

“Of course I do. You are my best friend. I trust you with my life.”

“Then just close your eyes.”

They stared at each other for a few breaths, but Fitz refused to back down. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with this whole situation, with their lack of success. They were the youngest students at the Academy and both at the top of the class. They should be able to figure this out. Not to mention the fact that if he and Jemma weren’t actually compatible, that was going to put a huge dent in his fantasies. Finally, Jemma gave in and closed her eyes, with a sigh.

Fitz studied her for a moment, taking in her long lashes and the tinge of pink that was rising in her cheeks. He knew how hard this was for her, how much she hated not being in control. But he needed her to relax. She was overthinking this.

Slowly, he reached out to touch her, finding his hands drawn to her face. Cupping her cheeks he brought his mouth down to hers, with just a brush of his lips against hers, before returning with more pressure. Jemma relaxed against him slightly and he felt her fingers in his hair and her lips softening under his before her tongue swept across his bottom lip. They moved closer together and Fitz let his hands drift down her body to come to rest on her hips, pulling her flush against him and her arms wound around his neck as she clung to him.

And there it was. The feeling that he had been expecting from the moment she had entered his room. It was all heat and fire and he could feel the blood rushing through his body.

As their kiss came to an end due to the need to breathe, he took a step back from her and watched as she slowly opened her eyes, looking a little dazed, with a smile spreading over her face.

“How did you do that? That was at least a five,” she said, smirking at him.

“A five?” Fitz scoffed. That was quite a bit more than a five in his mind. Or certainly would have been if he hadn’t let go of her.

“Come kiss me again. I bet we can get it up to a nine with a little practice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! They did it. Fitz is a genius. My headcanon is that he is totally the one who can navigate on instinct. She might have more experience with sex/dating, but this is his thing and he knows her so well that he knows what she needs even if she doesn't. So here he just needed her to forget about her variables and just go with it. 
> 
> ...and of course now they have to be thorough and make sure these results are reproducible. :)
> 
> Let me know what you think! And you can find me on tumblr too @LibbyWeasley


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a little longer to write than I thought it would. Real life can really be inconvenient :)
> 
> These two have a lot of talk about. But they aren't really good at that, so there is basically no talking in this chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_“Come kiss me again. I bet we can get it up to a nine with a little practice.”_

Her words were teasing, but the look in her eyes belied the levity in her voice. There was fire in her eyes and her breath was coming in short bursts, which drew his eyes from her face down to her chest rising and falling in quick succession. He noticed she didn’t check her spreadsheet this time, but instead she let her eyes fall closed and tipped her face up, waiting for his lips to return to hers. He gladly complied and pulled her into his arms before allowing his lips to gently descend on hers.

This time the kiss was more languid. After the heady rush of a kiss that actually had a spark of the passion he knew flowed between them, he wanted to slow down and savor the moment, savor her. Just in case he never got another chance.

He was also a little distracted by her mention of a nine. They hadn’t discussed what each point on the scale referred to, and he hadn’t pressed her on it because it hadn’t seemed likely that they’d progress past those awful kisses. But now that he knew more about what she liked, how to touch her to get a response, he wondered what it would take to get her to a nine. He didn’t think she meant sex. But if Jemma had just asked him to have sex with her, then he could die a happy man. Her experiment was about her biological response to physical contact, so maybe she meant an orgasm. Fuck. Did Jemma just challenge him to give her an orgasm? Is that what she wanted?

He had a sudden mental image of her lying naked on his bed while he explored every inch of her body with his hands and mouth. The desire he had been keeping in check flared to life and he felt himself harden. He had to pull away from her to put some distance between their bodies. He wondered what else she liked. Before she could translate the questioning look on her face to an actual question that he would have to answer, he decided to take the initiative and explore other parts of her body. He started his journey by kissing her jaw and down the column of her throat, groaning into her ear when she raised her hands and started unbuttoning his shirt, her fingertips lightly brushing his skin each time a button popped open. 

They had always been competitive and it seemed that this would be no different. Her fingers adeptly moved down the buttons and she pulled at his neatly tucked-in shirt until she could pull it off of him. While she had busied herself with his shirt he licked and nipped at the exposed skin on her collarbone, feeling a rush of excitement whenever she sighed and gasped under his ministrations. 

With her goal achieved she set about kissing her way down his chest, mimicking the kisses he had given her, flicking out her tongue to lick across his skin, making it hard to think straight. 

Marshaling his remaining willpower he reached out to touch her face. 

“Je-Simmons...aren’t you a little overdressed?” he practically growled. 

He couldn’t believe he just said that. Well, he guessed if he was going to embarrass himself either way, he might as well go big. 

But it didn’t seem like she thought he was as big of an idiot as he felt because she reached down and pulled her shirt over her head in one motion. 

His eyes dropped to where her breasts swelled over the top of her bra, rising and falling with each breath. It was like Christmas and his birthday and solving a really tough engineering problem all at once. Dragging his eyes back up to her face he saw her watching him. He felt his face heat with embarrassment, but he didn't really care anymore. This was every fantasy he had ever had. She could probably see the desire in his eyes, she always knew what he was thinking before he did, and she reached up to drag his lips back to hers. She practically attacked his mouth, swiping her tongue across his lips until he let her in, tongues tangling for dominance, and he allowed his hands to settle on her bare skin, first on her waist, and then moving to outline her ribs while he slowly moved upwards. 

When his hands finally reached his goal and brushed the sides of her bra-encased breasts, he was rewarded with a gasp and a moan. 

“Oh, Fitz,” she breathed, pulling her lips away from his. 

Emboldened by her words, he slid his hands across the thin cotton and cupped her breasts in his hands, rubbing his thumbs across the outline of her taut nipples. 

The sound that came out of her mouth made him wonder if he had hurt her. 

“Shit..Jemma, are you alright?” Her first name rose unbidden to his lips and in his desire-addled state it was out before he could pull it back. 

But she hadn’t noticed. In his panic he had reflexively tightened his grip, and his hands on her breasts brought another moan to her lips. 

Looking at her face, he could see her eyes were closed and her head was tipped back slightly. But the look on her face simultaneously took his breath away, and made him crave release. She slowly opened her eyes, her dark lashes sweeping upwards, as if sensing his gaze on her. Or maybe it was the lack of attention to other parts of her body. 

“Fitz, maybe we should try it lying down,” Jemma panted out breathlessly, before pushing him backward into his bed. She followed him down and ended up curled against his side, running her hands across his chest. Apparently not able to reach what she wanted, she wriggled around, trying to get comfortable, before giving it up and just climbing on top of him.

Jemma laying across his body was unlike anything he could have imagined. His dreams had never come close to doing this feeling justice. She had straddled him, with her thighs squeezing his legs and he could feel the heat of her as her body lined up perfectly against the part of him that was aching for her. She must be able to feel it. 

Jemma leaned down to kiss his collarbone and his hands rose up to keep her in place, coming down firmly on her arse. His own actions surprised him and he bucked up involuntarily at the same time that she pressed more firmly into him, causing them both to moan. This new position was too much, and he wasn’t sure how long he could do this before embarrassing himself, but his hands began to move, almost of their own accord, and he cupped her more firmly. Jemma continued to kiss his neck and along his jaw. He hoped she was heading back to his lips.

The pleasure of being with her was too intense. Her pants were skin tight and smooth, the closest he could imagine to actually touching her bare skin. He couldn’t even feel another layer of fabric underneath. Bloody hell. She wasn’t wearing any knickers.

Another groan escaped from him before her lips covered his again, and this time he was the one to roughly push his tongue into her mouth. She wriggled against him and their bodies fell into a rhythm, moving their hips and creating delicious friction while their tongues thrust against one another.

Fitz felt like his body was on fire, and Jemma, well, Jemma was incredible. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer with her hands on him, her tongue stroking him, and her hips rocking like that, so he felt a sense of relief when he felt her tense up and then moan into his mouth. As the realization of what had happened hit him, he buried his face in her shoulder, sucking at her skin to keep from yelling as his own release washed over him.

While he felt incredibly embarrassed - and sticky - he also felt extremely relaxed, laying there with Jemma. After a few moments she settled onto the bed next to him, curled into his side, and he put an arm around her. The silence between them felt like their natural silence, like when they studied or worked in the lab, when they were both lost in thought. His mind was empty except for thoughts of her - the smell of her hair, the feel of her skin, and the way she came apart in his arms. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he was startled when she finally spoke.

“Fitz, that was amazing. I have never felt anything like that,” she said softly. “Even this post-coital cuddling is just perfect, even without actual coitus. I wonder if these results are reproducible.”

She was so sexy when she was talking. Wait a minute. Results? 

And then reality, actual reality, came rushing back to them. They weren’t a couple. Jemma was in his bed because of her experiment. And while she had clearly liked it - he took a second to acknowledge that at least - that wouldn’t be enough to change her mind about anything. After this experiment was done he would go back to being in a one-sided infatuation with his best friend. Except now he had memories of her body, and the sounds she made when she was turned on, and how she made him feel when she touched him. This was going to be torture. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it, but he didn’t see how he could be close to her feeling like this.

He abruptly disentangled himself and grabbed his shirt from where she had tossed it on the floor.

“I’m just going to get changed,” he said, practically running to the bathroom.

His last glance of her before the door closed was of her laying in his bed with a smile on her face - and an absurdly large hickey on her shoulder. He was going to have to apologize for that later.

When he returned a few minutes later he was relieved to see that Jemma had her shirt back on and was sitting at his desk typing frantically at her laptop. This looked more normal at least, even if it may never feel normal again to be with her. 

“Are you hungry? I can order a pizza,” he said coming up next to her.

“How are you always hungry?” She started to laugh at him, and then just smiled sheepishly as her stomach rumbled.

“Well,” she said primly, “maybe I was a little nervous earlier.”

Well...the thought of kissing him made her nervous. Either that, or having a mind-blowing orgasm made her hungry. Interesting. He’d file that information away for later, but he wasn’t sure he really had any need of it.

Fitz ordered the pizza, veggie since that was how she preferred it, and Jemma continued to type notes. Coming up beside her, he realized she was making notes about the experiment, though how she could still just see this as an “experiment” after practically having sex, he had no idea. There were times when he didn’t think he’d ever understand her. Since she was busy working, Fitz took a moment to look at what she was typing.

_“...when Fitz brushed his thumbs across my nipples, I felt incredibly aroused. I wonder what it would feel like without my bra. Need to test further.”_

_“Fitz had a physical response to our covered genitals rubbing together. That increased my arousal as well, but I wonder how he would react if I touched him with my hands…”_

Fitz bit his lip and tried to think of something other than the fact that he was hard again. He knew Jemma took _very_ detailed notes, but this was ridiculous. He didn’t need notes to know that he would never forget a moment of what happened tonight.

Jemma looked up. “Just for my notes, how would you rate that last bit?”

She had a completely disarming way of smiling at him right before she asked him something that was bound to torture him.

“Er, a nine?” he managed to get out.

“A nine is an orgasm,” she clarified and then waiting patiently for his response.

All he could do was nod at her.

“Lovely,” she said brightly, and started tapping on the keys again.

There was no further talk of the experiment, or kissing, or orgasms, and by the time the pizza had been consumed they were back to acting like best friends, just best friends.

It was late, but they didn’t have class in the morning, and the final changes to their injection gun wouldn’t take all day, so they kept talking and laughing. Oddly, it wasn’t weird at all.

“...you know the answer is a monkey,” Fitz insisted.

“And I think that is my cue to leave,” she shot back.

Gathering her laptop, she made her way towards the door, and Fitz stood. 

“I’ve been thinking,” she started tentatively. “I think we’ve isolated enough variables in a controlled environment, and I was wondering if you would be willing to go on a date with me.”

“For science,” she added when he didn’t respond right away.

“For science,” Fitz repeated softly.

He knew she didn’t feel the same way he did. But it was better to have just a piece of her like this, than nothing at all, right? And maybe, just maybe she’d start to see him the way he saw her.

“Simmons, I’d love to date you for science.”

She laughed at him again, that soft tinkling sound that always brought a scowl to his face.

“Thank you for everything, Fitz. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And then she gave him a peck on the cheek, really closer to the corner of his mouth, like she’d done a million times before. But this time it seemed like she lingered a little longer than normal, and Fitz had no idea what that meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I really hate it when other people torture Fitz like this, but it is kinda fun.
> 
> At this point Jemma isn't really on board yet with them being a couple. She's really single-minded about getting this experiment right. I think Jemma can see Fitz as a potential partner (she trusts him enough to "experiment" with him), but she has never gone down that path because she doesn't want to jeopardize their friendship. And no matter how completely obvious Fitz it, she really isn't aware of his true feeling either. 
> 
> I think there will be one or two more chapters. And I promise they'll get to a good place.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments! I love reading what you think about this.
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter starts to feel a little angsty. They have to get to the point where they can finally talk about everything.

The next week passed slowly. Apparently Jemma only dated on Friday and Saturday nights, something he was well aware of, so she had scheduled their “simulated dating trial” - or SDT for short - for the following Friday. He had been to the Boiler Room with her before, obviously, but never like this, and it was making him more nervous than he cared to admit. There was nothing awkward exactly in their interactions, but the memory of what had happened between them was all he could think about when they were together, which made it difficult to focus on things like classes and homework. 

So if his eyes lingered a little bit too long on her when she was studying, she didn’t say anything. And if he noticed the way she studied his hands when he was tinkering on their injection gun, he didn’t mention it. And neither of them said anything about it when they bumped into each other in the lab and his hand accidentally brushed against her breast. He certainly didn’t notice her bite her lip before stepping back, and of course she didn’t hear the air that was forced from his lungs at the contact.

In all, it was a fairly normal week. They spent their days in classes and their evenings studying or working on projects. The nights were the hardest though, since he had to spend them in his room where she had kissed him, and in his bed where he had seen her come apart - because of him, because of the way he made her feel.

But this date might actually be the end of him. It was one thing to show her how he felt in the privacy of his room, but being out - in the Boiler Room of all places - with her _like that_ might be more than he was prepared for. Because they wouldn’t be alone. There would be classmates, and ex-boyfriends, and guys who wanted to be her future ex-boyfriend. And they would all know that Fitz didn’t belong there with Jemma on a date. They were “just” best friends. 

But this was her plan and she had promised to pick him up at seven at his door. He had wanted to meet her in her room, but apparently Jemma liked to be just as in charge of her dates as she was in every other part of her life. You would think that if she had learned anything last weekend it would have been that it is okay to cede control sometimes.

As the appointed hour arrived, he glanced nervously in the mirror, wondering if this was the worst mistake of his life. Before he could fully consider that question, there was a knock on his door and then Jemma burst in. 

One look at her took his breath away. She was back in dating mode, with another dress. This time it was dark blue with the kind of top that wrapped around her neck, exposing most of her back. He thought about how it would feel to touch all of that bare skin, but pushed the thought away as he went to greet her. 

“You look beautiful, Simmons,” he said earnestly. And she really did. 

“You look very handsome tonight too, Fitz.”

The formalities out of the way, they both stared at the walls for a moment before speaking at the same time.

“Did you want to head out?” 

“Will you kiss me again?”

Fitz tensed up at Jemma’s words. It wasn’t like he didn’t expect to kiss her again. He had planned to kiss her goodnight when he dropped her off after their “date.” That was the gentlemanly thing to do after all. Right? He’d be the first to admit to his lack of experience, but he was fairly certain you didn’t start a date with kissing - at least not the kind of kissing he thought she had on her mind. 

“Oh, Fitz, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It has just been hard to be near you all week, working side by side, and not being able to touch you. I feel like I might explode from everything built up inside me.”

“It’s fine Je-...it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting this so soon.”

“If you want to wait -“

He actually couldn’t believe they were talking about this. She wanted to kiss him, and that’s what he wanted too, so why not? 

Closing the distance between them, he reached out to cup her cheeks in his hands and sought out her lips while her arms encircled him. This kiss was all heat, and a week’s worth of longing. As the kiss deepened, their bodies drifted closer together until they were pressed against each other as if needing the other to stay upright, his hands falling down to rest on her hips while her fingers tangled in his hair. 

The desire that he felt for her came quickly, and every nerve in his body came to life just to seek her out. His fingers fidgeted where they rested, his thumbs making small circles that made her move against him. 

They pulled apart slightly, just enough to come up for air, and Jemma gave a throaty laugh. 

“I guess we _should_ get going, or we might not make it to the Boiler Room at all,” Jemma said with a sigh. 

But her words didn’t quite match her actions, and her hands dropped to his shoulders before she gave him a considering look and pulled him closer once again. This time when their lips met he was ready for the rush of energy. Readjusting, he brought his hands up her back, drawing his fingertips across the exposed skin. 

He felt the shiver run through her body as she moaned softly into his mouth, their lips still joined, and he spread his palms across her back in a soothing gesture. But Jemma didn’t seem to be soothed. On the contrary, she was pressed tightly against him and while his touch was gentle, hers was more demanding. She rocked her hips against him and he groaned before untangling her fingers from the front of his shirt. 

He was out of breath and incredibly turned on, but he tried to force his voice into something that could pass for normal. 

“I think you are right about the Boiler Room. We should probably go.”

He looked everywhere but directly at her as she straightened her dress and checked her hair in the mirror. 

“All set then,” she said smiling and grabbed his arm to pull him from the room.

It felt like they were playing with fire and he found himself even more reluctant to continue with her experiment. To her it was all about curiosity, but to him it was more than that, it was about these stolen moments with the most important person in his life. And he was terrified he was going to lose her. 

When they reached the Boiler Room, Jemma immediately spotted some of their classmates and pulled Fitz over to join the group. Miranda and Jason were fellow engineers and Fitz joined their discussion, while next to him Simmons was chatting easily with Milton. This was basically a regular night for them...except for the kissing. But it also wasn’t really like a date...except for the kissing...and the touching. Jemma had been holding his hand as they walked over, and now that they were seated she was resting her hand lightly on his knee, tracing some sort of pattern on his trousers. 

He was actually a little mesmerized by what her fingers were doing, and he wasn’t the only one. Their friends were giving them questioning looks, and Fitz felt a blush rise in his face and he scowled at her, hoping she would get the hint. She didn’t. 

“I’m going to get another drink. Anyone else need a refill?” he asked the group as a whole, desperate to put some space between himself and Jemma, the woman who was currently causing him to both feel embarrassed about what they were doing with this “experiment” as well as giving him an erection with just her fingertips on his knee. Or maybe she wasn’t doing anything and it was all coming from his brain working overtime. Either way he needed some air. 

Retrieving another round of drinks he returned to the group several minutes later, feeling a little calmer. 

Miranda was speaking when he approached “...well I think it sounds like a bad idea. Why would you practice with Fitz?”

“Fitz is my best friend and it is absolutely lovely of him to help me,” Jemma countered. 

At that moment Fitz realized what they were discussing, that she must have explained everything while he had been getting drinks, and he started to feel a little sick inside. 

“Jemma is right,” he heard Milton say, “Fitz is a really good friend to her. And this is all biology, right? Jemma is a genius when it comes to biology."

As far as Fitz could tell, Milton really was the worst, so he answered his question with a bark, "Of course it isn't all biology. It also involves chemistry...and physics."

Jemma looked back at him with wide eyes, while Miranda and Jason had more appraising looks as they glanced between him and Jemma. Milton just looked to Jemma for her opinion.

This had to stop. He knew now that this wouldn’t work. He wasn’t good enough for her. Even his own friends thought it was strange that they were together. And he was just the poor sap who was in love with her while she just saw him as a friend. 

“Er...Simmons, can I talk to you?”

“Of course, Fitz,” she said, looking at him expectantly. 

“Umm...not here.”

“Oh, of course. Did you want to walk outside?”

She must have sensed the change in his mood - of course she did, she always did - and excused them from  
the group, threading her arm through his. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the cool night air after the heat and noise of the Boiler Room. 

“What’s wrong?” Jemma asked gently as they stopped to gaze at the stars. 

Fitz took a deep breath, and then the words he knew he needed to say, even if he really didn’t want to, came spilling out. 

“I can’t do this, Jemma. I can’t kiss you and touch you like this. You are my best friend and that means more to me than anything.”

He could hear the pain in his own voice and wondered what she was thinking. 

Wait, was he breaking up with her? Could you break up with someone when you were on a fake date? He didn’t know, but he did know that every part of this experiment was making it hard for him to remember that they were not together. That even if she went back to his room with him tonight it was just for tonight and not forever. He wasn’t willing to risk his one chance with her when she didn’t even know he wanted to be more than friends. 

“I-I’m sorry, Fitz. I never should have asked you to do this. I thought...I don’t know I thought,” she broke off with a choked sob. 

He raised his hand to touch her, to comfort her, but pulled it back instead. 

“Can we still be friends?” she asked, a little sadly. 

“We’ll always be friends. I-I just need a little space right now.”

She nodded. “Promise things won’t be weird?”

He gave her a half smile. “Never.”

“Goodnight, Fitz.”

Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek, like she always did, and walked away, leaving him staring after her with his fingers touching his cheek right where her lips had been and wondering if those had been tears making her eyes sparkle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that they've broken up, they can finally get together for real :) I think there will be one more chapter, though I may add something from Jemma's POV.
> 
> Feel free to leave comments, or you can also find me on tumblr @LibbyWeasley


	6. Chapter 6

The next week passed slowly, as though time was standing still. She was right there beside him the whole damn time, but she felt so far away. They were still lab partners and they still worked together, but there was an extra distance between them that made it feel like work. By Wednesday evening, Fitz couldn’t take it anymore. While they had an exam coming up, which meant that they would normally stay up late studying together, Fitz elected to study on his own, telling Jemma he wasn’t feeling well. She tried to stop by anyway and take care of him, but he just ignored her knock on his door until she gave up.

He had hoped that some space would help, but Thursday was even worse.

“Fitz, can I talk to you for a minute?” came an annoying voice from behind him.

Fitz kept walking, hoping he could get to his room before Milton could catch up, but this was not his week.

“Fitz, I need to ask you some advice regarding Jemma. She has agreed to go out with me tomorrow and I was wondering if you could tell me what she likes.”

Fitz rolled his eyes at Milton, and kept walking.

“Please, Fitz. I know you are her best friend so you must know what she likes. I just want to make her happy.”

“Of course, Milton. I would love to tell you the secret to Jemma’s heart,” Fitz burst out sarcastically.

But Milton didn’t seem to notice his tone because he just stared back at him expectantly. Swiping a hand across the back of his neck, Fitz said the first thing that popped into his mind. “Jemma really likes it when a guy agrees with everything she says.”

Milton looked so grateful that Fitz almost felt bad. Almost. But the truth of the matter is that he was hurt. Even though he hadn’t actually told Jemma how he felt about her, it felt like a betrayal that she was going out with Milton. Milton! And she was going to kiss him...and, he didn’t want to think about it.

“Ugh,” he groaned as he strode into his room, slamming his books on the desk.

He had to stop her, didn’t he?

Thinking back to the weekend before, when she had been here, he tried to think of anything that could be a clue that she felt something beyond friendship for him. She had asked him to kiss her. That was true. And she had enjoyed the other...things they had done together. And he was fairly certain she hadn’t been wearing knickers when they had been kissing in his bed. That had to mean something...probably. And then the next night she had been eager to kiss him again, before everything had fallen apart.

That sounded like a pretty good list.

On the other hand, she had walked away from him and agreed to go out with Milton. That was all he needed to know. 

At least he had his memories...whatever good that would do him. Right now it just meant it was really hard for him to be around her without thinking about...that.

It was with these thoughts that he finally made it to the end of the week and planned another Friday night of working on his design for a non-lethal weapon that could be used in the field. He was really excited about the possibilities, and that made it easy for him to almost not notice as the clock ticked closer to seven o’clock. Jemma was consistent, so he assumed her date with Milton would be for seven that evening. He felt a little sick to his stomach, but focused on the designs in front of him. He was going to have to get used to this, after all.

So it was with some surprise that he heard a knock on his door. No one except Jemma ever stopped by this time of night and he knew she was out on a date.

“Door’s open. Come in,” he called from his desk where he was busy working.

He was busy finishing a calculation, so he didn’t look up until he heard Jemma’s voice.

“Hi, Fitz.”

He was so surprised to see her, that he just stared at her for several beats before speaking.

“Simmons, I didn’t expect to see you tonight. I thought you had a date with Milton,” he said petulantly. He knew he sounded childish, but he didn’t really owe her anything right now.

“I did,” she replied softly.

She stared back and her eyes burned into him.

She took several steps closer and said, “I owe you an apology.”

She sounded tentative, and it made him uncomfortable. He got up from his desk and put some more space between them.

“You don’t owe me anything, Simmons. It doesn’t matter. If you want to be with Milton, that’s fine with me.”

She smiled, and stepped closer to him again. “I don’t think things are going to work out with Milton.”

“Why?” he said quickly. “Nevermind, it’s probably because he just agrees with everything you say.”

“Yes, that is the worst, but that isn’t why I’m not going to see him again,” she said, stepping directly in front of him now.

“W-why is that?” he stammered. Why did he suddenly feel so nervous?

“I realized that of all the variables we tested, I forgot the most important one.”

She reached for his hand lying limply at his side, and intertwined their fingers. Keeping her gaze down at their hands, she said softly, “You.”

He felt his breathing hitch, and he heard the words she said, but didn’t really understand them.

Her smile got wider.

“What are you saying Jemma?” 

She moved her other hand up to his face and pressed it against his cheek. “I realized there was a problem with my experimental design. I didn’t account for all of the variables.”

Then her hand slipped behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. While her words weren’t quite penetrating his confusion, the kissing he understood. He brought his other hand up to her waist and pulled her closer, groaning at the contact. He had just spent all evening trying to forget what it felt like to kiss her, and now she was kissing him again. His mind was turning over her words, and he pulled away from her as he finally understood their meaning. Or what the thought they meant.

“Wait...what was the problem with your experiment?”

“I didn’t see it at first either,” she said excitedly, taking a step away from him. “But I forgot to account for the person I was kissing...you. I went to meet Milton tonight and after a few minutes I realized it wouldn’t work with him. Not even if I kissed him the same way I kissed you. Because he wasn’t you.”

She was looking into his eyes again, and as much as he wanted to close the distance between them, he wanted to clear the air between them even more. 

“Simmons, you are my best friend…”

“--the very best!” she interjected.

“Right...and I don’t want to lose that. So I want to apologize to you too.”

She was still smiling, and her smile was even bigger now, if that was possible.

“I knew how I felt about you before I kissed you. I-I think I love you.” he closed his eyes to block out her reaction. He wasn’t sure if she would be upset, or uncomfortable, or…

“I thought so,” was all she said before putting her hands on his shoulders.

“What do you mean, you thought so?” he said uncomfortably, his eyes opening. He thought he had been careful.

“You called me Jemma when we were...together. You never call me Jemma.”

“It isn’t professional to call you by your first name,” he argued.

“You think you love me?” she returned to the topic at hand.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I tried not to, but you are amazing and beautiful…,” he trailed off as she pulled his face down to hers again.

“I think I love you too,” she said softly before kissing his cheek. “I don’t think we should try not to.”

“You don’t? I thought we were just best friends. Isn’t that what you told Milton?”

“Milton? What does he have to do with this?” she asked, pulling back to look into his eyes.

“I thought that was what you wanted, to practice with me so you could date him.”

“Well, yes, I guess I did, but that was before I realized...look Fitz, from the day I met you I thought you were so handsome and smart...amazing really, but then we became friends and I needed you beside me. I never wanted to lose that.”

“You won’t, Jemma,” he said soothingly.

“I like the way you say my name. It makes me want to do this,” and then she kissed him again, forcing all the thoughts from his head.

His hands encircled her waist and pulled her against him, desire coursing through him.

Their kisses were becoming more frantic and Jemma, he guessed he could call her that in his mind now, was reaching for his buttons again.

“Jemma,” his voice came out roughly. “Jemma, wait.”

She continued unbuttoning his shirt and nibbling at his neck, which was very distracting.

“Jemma...we have to be friends.”

“Mmmhh.”

“Jemma, promise we’ll always be friends.”

“Oh, Fitz, of course we’ll always be friends, being together won’t change anything.”

He looked at her skeptically.

“I mean, it will change everything, but only to make things better. We make a great team and I want to share everything with you. Always.”

“That’s what I want too,” he said seriously. “Whatever happens next, I want to share it with you.”

It was quiet for a minute, before Jemma asked, “Do you think we should start sharing things now?”

He let out a short laugh and then caught her as she jumped at him. He had forgotten her attempts at removing his shirt and was surprised to feel her hands across his chest.

Letting out his breath at the contact, he lowered his head to caress her gently and then opened his mouth as her tongue pressed against his lips, deepening the kiss. The momentum behind the kiss pushed him forward and Fitz backed Jemma up against his desk. When her thighs hit the desk, she pushed back against him, rocking her hips. Jemma was a few inches shorter than him and kissing at this angle was starting to hurt his neck, so Fitz applied his vast knowledge of engineering to lift her up to sit on his desk, evening out their heights.

Jemma was leaning forward in order to keep their lips connected, and she broke their kiss just long enough to breath and to pull Fitz between her legs, scooting to the edge of the desk. This new position lined up their bodies perfectly for the type of friction and force needed to continue “sharing.”

The only sounds in the room now were the moans coming from both of them, the sound of wet kisses, and the slide of the desk as it moved across the floor.

“B-bed…,” suggested Jemma in a breathy voice.

“Mmm-hmm,” Fitz replied, not even able to form actual words. This was even better than when they had been experimenting. They were really together. She loved him.

“Jemma...goonadatewithme?” the words came out in a rush.

“W-what?” she said distractedly, trying to push him towards the bed.

“A date...you know, a date?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he started to feel uncomfortable. “I just thought that if we were together we should go on a date.”

“Oh...a date would be lovely. We don’t really need to get to know each other, but I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Like boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Yes, Fitz, like boyfriend and girlfriend,” she said with a laugh. “It would be lovely,” she said again, blushing.

Fitz felt himself start to smile again. Jemma was trying to push him into bed, and it was the fact that he wanted to take her on a date that made her blush.

“Jemma, how about we make a deal...we can do anything you want tonight, if tomorrow I get to take you out.”

“Anything I want?” she asked, with what he thought was supposed to be a seductive look.

“Uh-hem...anything within reason.”

“Don’t worry, Fitz, I’m not going to steal your virtue...yet. You owe me a date first,” she responded saucily.

It seemed like Jemma was done talking, as she steered him towards the bed. They didn't need to experiment anymore, but he supposed there were other things they could explore, and he was looking forward to doing everything with her. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jemma finally figured it out! And that girl doesn't mess around.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it. This was my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think!
> 
> And you can find me on tumblr as well @libbyweasley


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